Can't speak for your favourite drummer, but in my case theres no secret to it, I just like the sound.....or they didn't have a coated PS3 when I last bought a bass head. Can't remember now. Either way, it's no big deal. As long as it goes "thump" when I hit it I'm happy.

I do the same thing. I like the warmth that coating adds on the toms, but I have no use for coating on my kick batter, so I go for clear EQ3s. Still sounds great, and nobody's likely to see it from the audience anyways.